The Edge of America One Cool Summer Day

These were taken on August 10th.  It was a perfect day.  It was warm enough to be comfortable yet breezy enough to be invigorating.  There was a pearly haze in the air. The sky was filled with masses of low, trailing clouds, and the humid air was full of the clay and metal smell of well water sprayed high over the ripening corn and the scent of millions of blackberries ripening. An absolutely quintessential Northwest summer day.  Wasn't that paragraph just lyrical as all get out?  Of course it was.

I went out to the last gasp of the last road before the international border, where the Cascades start up suddenly from the Fraser River plateau.  I'm going to follow this road until it meanders out to its end.

Heading East.  This is what constitutes the last bridge over the Sumas River before it runs into Canada, which is over about an acre to the left.  

Turning to the right and hanging over the guardrail, we see the Sumas River (or at least one branch of it) as it runs beneath that bridge.  This is called Saar Creek depending on what time of the year it is and how hard it's been raining.  It's three inches deep and narrow enough to step across here.  The bed lies on the blue clay layer this whole valley floats atop. You can make it out through the crystal clear water. It actually is bluish.

This is where the Cascades begin.  Imagine the aroma of all this ripening fodder, the corn growing, and the smell of the evergreens coming down out of those hills.  It was amazing.  I could have stayed out here all day.   I've come out here in the past and seen herds of deer going up the rocky sides of this mountain in broad daylight.  I'd hoped to see them today.  The deer had other plans. Oh well.

Nearing the end of the road now...

The blue flowers are chicory, also called Bachelor's Buttons, that have been mowed. Usually they stand about two feet high.

Up past the last curve, to find a curious horse!  I am using all the zoom here because horses kind of freak me out, although this one seemed very chill.

This is it.  From here you walk.  Where to?  North across the border to a very, very small town called Arnold, or straight up East into the Mt. Baker National Forest where a bear will eat you. Or back South across the farmland until a cow eats you. 

Now let's turn our backs on this and head back in to Sumas City Limits!  Hooray!

Here we are, just past the city limits sign, standing on the bridge over the mighty Sumas River! The river that killed a town! Oh shit it's the Sumas River bridge!  What dire peril awaits below this span???What scene of death and tragedy?  What swift, gnashing waters running white maned o'er jagged, merciless rocks??!  WHAT SCENE OF WRECKAGE AND HEARTBREAK???

HOLY SHIT IT'S THE RIVER THAT KILLED A TOWN!!!!!    

To me - and I've mentioned this before - this is a creek.  In fact it doesn't even rate the name 'creek' - it's a rill. A trickle. A seep.  And this is what it usually looks like, Spring, Summer and Fall.  In the Winter it might fill this swale until the water reaches four feet across...

...when it can find the damn swale at all.  

I've only turned to the left slightly, and the river, such as it is, has been completely obscured by this carpet of morning glories.  

Here's a close-up of that house.  A year ago, all this had been washed away, right back to the foundations.  All that has been replaced and shored back up. Look how fast the plants have taken back over!

The morning glories are even clambering up the bridge!  (I've turned my back on the house and now am looking back toward the Rancho just past the speed limit sign.)

Of course I had to visit the old place.

   

 I absolutely love this shot.  Neglect never looked so good.  Man, that moody sky and the full, gorgeous greens here... this may be my favorite. It absolutely captures what I love about this time of year, and about the Northwest.   

 HOLY BATCRAP THAT WAS SO FUN OMG WTF BBQ LET'S DO THAT AGAIN ok fine we will.

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  !!!Super fantastic wildflowers!!!!